Test order effects in simultaneous protocols

Simultaneous protocols typically yield poorer stimulus equivalence outcomes than do other protocols commonly used in equivalence research. Two independent groups of three 3-member equivalence sets of stimuli were used in conditional discrimination procedures in two conditions, one using the standard simultaneous protocol and the other using a hybrid simultaneous training and simple-to-complex testing. Participants completed the two conditions in one long session in Experiment 1, but in separate sessions in Experiment 2. The same stimulus sets used in Experiment 1 were randomized for the two conditions in Experiment 2. Overall, accuracy was better with the hybrid than with the standard protocol in both experiments. The equivalence yield was also better under the hybrid than under the standard protocol in each experiment. The results suggest that the order of testing for emergent relations may account for the difficulty often encountered with the standard simultaneous protocol.     

A comparison of men's and women's strength to body mass ratio and varus/valgus knee angle during jump landings

The purpose of this investigation was to compare valgus/varus knee angles during various jumps and lower body strength between males and females relative to body mass. Seventeen recreationally active females (age: 21.94 ± 2.59 years; height: 1.67 ± 0.05 m; mass: 64.42 ± 8.39 kg; percent body fat: 26.89 ± 6.26%; squat one-repetition maximum: 66.18 ± 19.47 kg; squat to body mass ratio: 1.03 ± 0.28) and 13 recreationally active males (age: 21.69 ± 1.65 years; height: 1.77 ± 0.07 m; mass: 72.39 ± 9.23 kg; percent body fat: 13.15 ± 5.18%; squat one-repetition maximum: 115.77 ± 30.40 kg; squat to body mass ratio: 1.59 ± 0.31) performed a one-repetition maximum in the squat and three of each of the following jumps: countermovement jump, 30 cm drop jump, 45 cm drop jump, and 60 cm drop jump. Knee angles were analysed using videography and body composition was analysed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to allow for squat to body mass ratio and squat to fat free mass ratio to be calculated. Significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) were found between male and female one-repetition maximum, male and female squat to body mass ratio, and male and female squat to fat free mass ratio. Significant differences were found between male and female varus/valgus knee positions during maximum flexion of the right and left leg in the countermovement jump, drop jump from 30 cm, drop jump from 45 cm, and drop jump from 60 cm. Correlations between varus/valgus knee angles and squat to body mass ratio for all jumps displayed moderate, non-significant relationships (countermovement jump: r = 0.445; drop jump from 30 cm: r = 0.448; drop jump from 45 cm: r = 0.449; drop jump from 60 cm: r = 0.439). In conclusion, males and females have significantly different lower body strength and varus/valgus knee position when landing from jumps.     

Continuing Education and the Redrawing of Boundaries

Continuing education, broadly defined to include both vocational and non-vocational kinds of provision, is having an increasing impact within higher education. Its further expansion is now part of government strategy. This expansion will not be achieved without difficulties, and it poses considerable and varied challenges to those who work in higher education. In this paper, we focus on the effects that continuing education is having on established boundaries within higher education — boundaries between different sectors and types of provision, between different subjects and ways of teaching, and between higher education staff and their different skills. As the provision of continuing education increases, existing boundaries will change, become more permeable or be broken down altogether while new divisions and distinctions are created and built up.     

Studying construction work: Connecting classroom centers

Johnny has one hammer, one hammer, one hammer; Johnny has one hammer, Johnny has two, sings a small group of children in the woodworking center as they pound small cuts of wood with hammer and nails. Hey, Ronnie, put that block here. We're making a chimney for our house, directs one youngster in the block center. We can move in when we're finished, he tells his two companions.Laverne Warner is Professor of Early Childhood Education within the Division of Teacher Education at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Melissa Sepulveda is a kindergarten teacher at Lowery Elementary School in the Cy-Fair Independent School District in Houston, Texas.     

Doctoral Student Socialization: Educating Stewards of the Physical Education Profession

ABSTRACT

In preparing the future stewards of the physical education profession, the occupational socialization and professional development of physical education doctoral students is important to consider. To date, there has been scant scholarly inquiry into doctoral education in physical education. However, there is an abundance of research related to doctoral training in the higher education literature more generally. Drawing upon this larger body of work, this article expands occupational socialization theory to address the socialization of physical education doctoral students and faculty members. The case is made that effective doctoral training in physical education is essential to securing the future of the profession. Provided is an overview of the existing literature, presentation of an adaptation to occupational socialization theory that explains doctoral physical education socialization, and a discussion of key professional development issues that academic leaders and student support personnel should consider. Implications and recommendations for doctoral physical education leadership and academic programs are provided.     

Increasing physical literacy in youth: A two-week Sport for Development program for children aged 6-10

PROSPECTS - Regular physical activity significantly improves health outcomes, yet rates of childhood physical activity remain alarmingly low. Physical literacy has been identified as the...     

Using contrasting cases to improve self-assessment in physics learning

Self-assessment is essential to scientific literacy as stated by the National Research Council Committee on Conceptual Framework for the New K-12 Science Education Standards and has since been incorporated into the Next Generation Science Standards. However, little empirical evidence documents which instructional tools are beneficial in improving students’ self-assessment in science learning. As such, we conducted a classroom-based quasi-experiment to test whether contrasting case-based instructional supports improved 390 introductory high school physics students’ accuracy in self-assessment and academic performance when solving physics problems. We compared the effects of providing students with content knowledge and contrasting cases (contrasting good and poor solution) on students’ physics problem solving and their ability to self-assess, with the effects of either presenting them with content knowledge and good solutions or teaching only content knowledge. We found contrasting examples improved the accuracy of students’ self-assessments, promoted content learning, and enhanced the development of self-assessment strategies.     

The effects of load on system and lower-body joint kinetics during jump squats

To investigate the effects of different loads on system and lower-body kinetics during jump squats, 12 resistance-trained men performed jumps under different loading conditions: 0%, 12%, 27%, 42%, 56%, 71%, and 85% of 1-repetition maximum (1-RM). System power output was calculated as the product of the vertical component of the ground reaction force and the vertical velocity of the bar during its ascent. Joint power output was calculated during bar ascent for the hip, knee, and ankle joints, and was also summed across the joints. System power output and joint power at knee and ankle joints were maximized at 0% 1-RM (p < 0.001) and followed the linear trends (p < 0.001) caused by power output decreasing as the load increased. Power output at the hip was maximized at 42% 1-RM (p = 0.016) and followed a quadratic trend (p = 0.030). Summed joint power could be predicted from system power (p < 0.05), while system power could predict power at the knee and ankle joints under some of the loading conditions. Power at the hip could not be predicted from system power. System power during loaded jumps reflects the power at the knee and ankle, while power at the hip does not correspond to system power.     

Pressing Issues in College Counseling: A Survey of American College Counseling Association Members

The authors conducted a survey of members of the American College Counseling Association to ascertain the experiences and opinions of college counselors on several pressing issues within the college counseling profession. Survey results from 133 respondents indicated that counseling centers may benefit from increasing the number of group counseling interventions by increasing the multicultural competence of services provided, by implementing crisis/disaster mental health initiatives, and by more effectively consulting with other professionals on campus.     

Characteristics of a cognitive tool that helps students learn diagnostic problem solving

Three related studies replicated and extended previous work (J.A. Danielson et al. (2003), Educational Technology Research and Development, 51(3), 63–81) involving the Diagnostic Pathfinder (dP) (previously Problem List Generator [PLG]), a cognitive tool for learning diagnostic problem solving. In studies 1 and 2, groups of 126 and 113 veterinary students, respectively, used the dP to complete case-based homework; groups of 120 and 199, respectively, used an alternative method. Students in the dP groups scored significantly higher (p = .000 and .003, respectively) on final exams than those in control groups. In the third study, 552 veterinary students responding to a questionnaire indicated that the dP’s gating and data synthesis activities aided learning. The dP’s feedback and requirement of completeness appear to aid learning most.